After having been held at West Buckland Village Hall for several years, this match had to be arranged for a new venue nearby, Norton Fitzwarren Village Hall. Several players experienced problems finding it, as the postcode, as given on their own website, when typed into google maps, pinpoints a spot over a mile away.

The new venue

Once play was under way, it wasn’t long before the expected pattern of results appeared – Somerset 1st team set for a big win and the 2nd team for an equally big loss. And so it proved, with their 1st team’s 10.5 – 5.5 win mirrored by a 6-10 loss in the lower half.

Devon 1

Grd

Somerset 1

Grd

1

D. Mackle

197

0

1

D. Buckley

201

2

K. J. Hurst

186

0

1

J. Sherwin

202

3

S. Homer

179

0

1

B. Edgell

198

4

B. W. Hewson

178

½

½

T. Stuttard

191

5

D. Regis

175

0

1

P. Kryzyzanowski

188

6

J. F. Wheeler

173

½

½

D. Littlejohns

174

7

J. Stephens

173

1

0

A. F. Footner

173

8

A. Brusey

174

0

1

R. Morgan

147

9

T. F. Thynne

171

½

½

D. Painter

175

10

D. Twine

170

0

1

M. Richardt

180

11

J. Leung

165

0

1

Megan Owens

171

12

A. Billings

157

1

0

D. Freeman

164

13

O. Wensley

164

0

1

C. Purry

151

14

W. Ingham

166

1

0

G. N. Jepps

161

15

P. Brooks

160

0

1

J. E. Fewkes

157

16

N. Rahimili

158e

1

0

N. N. Senior

156

Totals

5½

10½

Devon II

Somerset II

17

C. V. Howard

158

½

½

P. Flexman

18

B. Gosling

150

½

½

D. Peters

19

J. Duckham

153

1

0

Def.

20

I. S. Annetts

152

1

0

Def.

21

P. J. Kennedy

147

1

0

S. Pickard

22

M. Stinton

150

0

1

D. Wood

23

P. Dobber

149

0

1

A. Champion

24

J. E. Allen

150

1

0

M. Worrall

25

D. A. Toms

153

1

0

C. Strong

26

J. S. Murray

151

1

0

C. McKinley

27

J. G. Gorodi

149

1

0

R. Challoner

28

P. E. Halmkin

150

½

½

R. D. Knight

29

K. Atkins

146

1

0

J. Wilkinson

30

J. Morrison

148

0

1

K. Paine

31

W. R. Taylor

141

0

1

C. Stanton

32

J. Fraser

125

½

½

M. Baker

Totals

10

6

The top games get under way - (Nearest: Buckley - Mackle)

Bd. 14: Bill ingham vs Gerry Jepps.

Bd. 22: Dave Wood vs Mike Stinton-Brownbridge.

2nd team: nearest: P. Dobber vs A. Champion.

Bd. 32: Mark Baker vs John Fraser.

Meanwhile, in another village hall, near Honiton, Cornwall met their furthest opponents, Hampshire.

Now you’d think that after earlier results this season in which Devon beat Cornwall and Hampshire beat Devon, by substantial margins in each case, it would be only logical to suppose that Hampshire should beat Cornwall with some ease. But where Cornwall is concerned, logic is rarely the defining factor. In this case, for example, although the Cornish were outgraded on the majority of boards, they won 3.5 – 2.5 on both the top and bottom 6 boards, to register a 7-5 win. Where’s the logic in that?

Cornwall were without Ian George, but newly-retired County President, Robin Kneebone, seems to have more time to play, and the rise and rise of 11 year-old Theo Slade continued apace. As already reported, Theo became West of England U-12 Champion at Swindon the previous weekend, and here he was pitched into the senior county team at Bd. 7 and won in 28 moves against a higher graded opponent.